Malaysian opposition leader Anwar casts vote

STORY: After casting his vote, Anwar said, "We've tried our best, we've explained our case and InsyaAllah, God willing, we will succeed.”

Anwar’s coalition, Pakatan Harapan alliance, a multiethnic coalition that ousted the long-ruling Barisan Nasional in 2018 for the first time since the country’s independence in 1957, is forecast to win the greatest number of parliamentary seats in the closely-run polls.

But it may fail to seize the majority needed to form a government as he faces off against blocs led by Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and former premier Muhyiddin Yassin.

Without a clear winner, political uncertainty could persist as Malaysia faces slowing economic growth and rising inflation.

It has had three prime ministers in as many years.